The economic, political, strategic and cultural dynamism in Southeast Asia has gained added relevance in recent years with the spectacular rise of giant economies in East and South Asia. This has drawn greater attention to the region and to the enhanced role it now plays in international relations and global economics.

The sustained effort made by Southeast Asian nations since 1967 towards a peaceful and gradual integration of their economies has had indubitable success, and perhaps as a consequence of this, most of these countries are undergoing deep political and social changes domestically and are constructing innovative solutions to meet new international challenges. Big Power tensions continue to be played out in the neighbourhood despite the tradition of neutrality exercised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Trends in Southeast Asia series acts as a platform for serious analyses by selected authors who are experts in their fields. It is aimed at encouraging policymakers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.

The economic, political, strategic and cultural dynamism in Southeast Asia has gained added relevance in recent years with the spectacular rise of giant economies in East and South Asia. This has drawn greater attention to the region and to the enhanced role it now plays in international relations and global economics.

The sustained effort made by Southeast Asian nations since 1967 towards a peaceful and gradual integration of their economies has had indubitable success, and perhaps as a consequence of this, most of these countries are undergoing deep political and social changes domestically and are constructing innovative solutions to meet new international challenges. Big Power tensions continue to be played out in the neighbourhood despite the tradition of neutrality exercised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Trends in Southeast Asia series acts as a platform for serious analyses by selected authors who are experts in their fields. It is aimed at encouraging policymakers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.

The economic, political, strategic and cultural dynamism in Southeast Asia has gained added relevance in recent years with the spectacular rise of giant economies in East and South Asia. This has drawn greater attention to the region and to the enhanced role it now plays in international relations and global economics.

The sustained effort made by Southeast Asian nations since 1967 towards a peaceful and gradual integration of their economies has had indubitable success, and perhaps as a consequence of this, most of these countries are undergoing deep political and social changes domestically and are constructing innovative solutions to meet new international challenges. Big Power tensions continue to be played out in the neighbourhood despite the tradition of neutrality exercised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Trends in Southeast Asia series acts as a platform for serious analyses by selected authors who are experts in their fields. It is aimed at encouraging policymakers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.

The economic, political, strategic and cultural dynamism in Southeast Asia has gained added relevance in recent years with the spectacular rise of giant economies in East and South Asia. This has drawn greater attention to the region and to the enhanced role it now plays in international relations and global economics.

The sustained effort made by Southeast Asian nations since 1967 towards a peaceful and gradual integration of their economies has had indubitable success, and perhaps as a consequence of this, most of these countries are undergoing deep political and social changes domestically and are constructing innovative solutions to meet new international challenges. Big Power tensions continue to be played out in the neighbourhood despite the tradition of neutrality exercised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Trends in Southeast Asia series acts as a platform for serious analyses by selected authors who are experts in their fields. It is aimed at encouraging policymakers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.

The economic, political, strategic and cultural dynamism in Southeast Asia has gained added relevance in recent years with the spectacular rise of giant economies in East and South Asia. This has drawn greater attention to the region and to the enhanced role it now plays in international relations and global economics.

The sustained effort made by Southeast Asian nations since 1967 towards a peaceful and gradual integration of their economies has had indubitable success, and perhaps as a consequence of this, most of these countries are undergoing deep political and social changes domestically and are constructing innovative solutions to meet new international challenges. Big Power tensions continue to be played out in the neighbourhood despite the tradition of neutrality exercised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Trends in Southeast Asia series acts as a platform for serious analyses by selected authors who are experts in their fields. It is aimed at encouraging policymakers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.

The economic, political, strategic and cultural dynamism in Southeast Asia has gained added relevance in recent years with the spectacular rise of giant economies in East and South Asia. This has drawn greater attention to the region and to the enhanced role it now plays in international relations and global economics.

The sustained effort made by Southeast Asian nations since 1967 towards a peaceful and gradual integration of their economies has had indubitable success, and perhaps as a consequence of this, most of these countries are undergoing deep political and social changes domestically and are constructing innovative solutions to meet new international challenges. Big Power tensions continue to be played out in the neighbourhood despite the tradition of neutrality exercised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Trends in Southeast Asia series acts as a platform for serious analyses by selected authors who are experts in their fields. It is aimed at encouraging policymakers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.

The economic, political, strategic and cultural dynamism in Southeast Asia has gained added relevance in recent years with the spectacular rise of giant economies in East and South Asia. This has drawn greater attention to the region and to the enhanced role it now plays in international relations and global economics.

The sustained effort made by Southeast Asian nations since 1967 towards a peaceful and gradual integration of their economies has had indubitable success, and perhaps as a consequence of this, most of these countries are undergoing deep political and social changes domestically and are constructing innovative solutions to meet new international challenges. Big Power tensions continue to be played out in the neighbourhood despite the tradition of neutrality exercised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Trends in Southeast Asia series acts as a platform for serious analyses by selected authors who are experts in their fields. It is aimed at encouraging policymakers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.

Three Malay bachelors had a long day at work. They gathered at one of their colleagues’ workplaces and started their journey back to their house, by foot. Along the way, they discussed ways to reward themselves for the hard day's work. One suggested dining out, but the rest disagreed, preferring to cook. So, they stopped halfway and bought a live chicken from a Chinese seller by the roadside. This was how business was conducted in the 1950s in Singapore. “Two katis, so three ringgits!” said the seller. The three men agreed to share the purchase. They carried the living chicken all the way home. Upon arriving, they were greeted by a man called Nyong who was sweeping the compounds of the village. The man teased the bachelors, “So who would cook for you?” Despite being unmarried, the men replied that they were trained to cook, and requested Nyong to slaughter the chicken.

That was the opening scene of the movie Bujang Lapok, one of the wellknown P. Ramlee comedies. While the film shared the struggles of young bachelors in pre-independent Singapore, scenes like this also encapsulate the lifestyle before the Islamic resurgence movement in the 1970s. Imagine how different the three bachelors would behave today. They could drop by a supermarket, choose slaughtered chickens from the freezer, and they could choose which part of it rather than purchasing the whole chicken. Being good Muslims, they can verify its halalness by looking at the halal logo indicated on the packaging, without needing to pass it to another Muslim to slaughter the chicken. The identity of the chicken owner is also unknown as the chicken might have been slaughtered at the slaughterhouse.

While once it was not uncommon for Muslims to patronize halal poultry without halal certification (because it did not yet exist), it is now almost unthinkable. A halal certificate symbolizes that the meat at a given supermarket is permitted for consumption, while the meat without such certification is deemed prohibited. The meat would have undergone a thorough process to meet halal standards.

The halal industry in Southeast Asia has been growing since the 1980s. It is a by-product of the Islamic resurgence (some referred to this period as Islamic revivalism or dakwah movement) which swept across the region in the 1970s and 1980s, witnessing the importation of ideologies from the Middle East such as Salafi-Wahhabism from Saudi Arabia, Shi’ism's vilayete- faqeh inspired by the 1979 Iranian Revolution, and the tarbiyah movement adapted from the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt. Though competing with one another, these ideologies shared the common goal of establishing an Islamic socio-political order as an alternative to a Western order.

Introduction

Tourism is a robust sector in developed economies, and governments collaborate with private enterprises to cater to foreign tourists’ needs. The meaning of tourism has also undergone significant changes for Singapore Muslims. In Islam, the movement of people from one place to another has always been part and parcel of community, cultural and religious life. Some of these travels are predicated on necessities, such as warfare (as refugees), migration (forced or voluntary) and religious obligations (such as the pilgrimage to Mecca). Muslims also travel for work and leisure (holidays). Examining how travel among Singapore Muslims has changed over the years is significant because it allows one to take stock of the impact of the Islamic resurgence movement of the 1980s, which scholars have identified as the reason for the attitudinal change of Muslims in Southeast Asia towards exclusivism or conservatism (Azhar 2014; Chandra 1987). Since the 1980s, Muslims (the majority of whom in Singapore are Malays) experienced improvements in their socio-economic life. The community's ascension into the Muslim middle and educated class corresponds to the changing appetite of needs, lifestyles, and requirements (Bourdieu 1984). The nexus between the expanding middle class and growing religiosity led to new demands and requirements, among others, for Islamic tourism or shariah-compliant travel.

Today, the haj (also called hajj) and umrah industry is the fastest-growing sector in the Malay-Muslim community. Based on the 2020 census, the Malay-Muslim community (also referred to as the Malays) makes up about 15 per cent of the 5.6 million Singapore population. The haj is the fifth pillar of Islam, and it is obligatory for Muslims to perform the haj ritual to Mecca once in their lifetime. This chapter examines the evolution of the haj and umrah from a religious obligation into a flourishing industry in Singapore. During the colonial period, the city-state earned the reputation of being the centre of the haj pilgrimage, where travel to Mecca from outside Arabia was only feasible by sea, and Singapore played the role of the haj port in Southeast Asia. Today, as the mode of transportation has changed from sea to air, Singapore no longer plays that role. Nevertheless, the privatization of haj has made the ritual a business opportunity.

The economic, political, strategic and cultural dynamism in Southeast Asia has gained added relevance in recent years with the spectacular rise of giant economies in East and South Asia. This has drawn greater attention to the region and to the enhanced role it now plays in international relations and global economics.

The sustained effort made by Southeast Asian nations since 1967 towards a peaceful and gradual integration of their economies has had indubitable success, and perhaps as a consequence of this, most of these countries are undergoing deep political and social changes domestically and are constructing innovative solutions to meet new international challenges. Big Power tensions continue to be played out in the neighbourhood despite the tradition of neutrality exercised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Trends in Southeast Asia series acts as a platform for serious analyses by selected authors who are experts in their fields. It is aimed at encouraging policymakers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.

The economic, political, strategic and cultural dynamism in Southeast Asia has gained added relevance in recent years with the spectacular rise of giant economies in East and South Asia. This has drawn greater attention to the region and to the enhanced role it now plays in international relations and global economics.

The sustained effort made by Southeast Asian nations since 1967 towards a peaceful and gradual integration of their economies has had indubitable success, and perhaps as a consequence of this, most of these countries are undergoing deep political and social changes domestically and are constructing innovative solutions to meet new international challenges. Big Power tensions continue to be played out in the neighbourhood despite the tradition of neutrality exercised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Trends in Southeast Asia series acts as a platform for serious analyses by selected authors who are experts in their fields. It is aimed at encouraging policymakers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.

The economic, political, strategic and cultural dynamism in Southeast Asia has gained added relevance in recent years with the spectacular rise of giant economies in East and South Asia. This has drawn greater attention to the region and to the enhanced role it now plays in international relations and global economics.

The sustained effort made by Southeast Asian nations since 1967 towards a peaceful and gradual integration of their economies has had indubitable success, and perhaps as a consequence of this, most of these countries are undergoing deep political and social changes domestically and are constructing innovative solutions to meet new international challenges. Big Power tensions continue to be played out in the neighbourhood despite the tradition of neutrality exercised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Trends in Southeast Asia series acts as a platform for serious analyses by selected authors who are experts in their fields. It is aimed at encouraging policymakers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.

The economic, political, strategic and cultural dynamism in Southeast Asia has gained added relevance in recent years with the spectacular rise of giant economies in East and South Asia. This has drawn greater attention to the region and to the enhanced role it now plays in international relations and global economics.

The sustained effort made by Southeast Asian nations since 1967 towards a peaceful and gradual integration of their economies has had indubitable success, and perhaps as a consequence of this, most of these countries are undergoing deep political and social changes domestically and are constructing innovative solutions to meet new international challenges. Big Power tensions continue to be played out in the neighbourhood despite the tradition of neutrality exercised by the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN).

The Trends in Southeast Asia series acts as a platform for serious analyses by selected authors who are experts in their fields. It is aimed at encouraging policymakers and scholars to contemplate the diversity and dynamism of this exciting region.